The KDE Team
12/04/1999
1.00.00
KDE
Kcontrol
Kpanel

# KDE Control Center - Panel Settings

## Panel and Taskbar: Location and Style

The Panel contains the Application Starter button, buttons for switching virtual desktops, a clock, and various other swallowed icons placed there by default or by the user.

- The Location buttons select which side of the screen the Panel is attached to. Choices are: top, left side, bottom, or right side.

- The Taskbar displays a list of running applications. It can be hidden, displayed horizontally along the top or bottom of the screen, or vertically downwards from the top/left corner.

- The Style buttons choose between three sizes of the panel: Tiny, Normal, or Large. This choice affects the size of icons used in the panel, and the placement of virtual desktop buttons, etc.

## Panel Options

The ``Menu Tooltips'' section controls the Tooltips, which are small descriptive hints about the functions of buttons and menu items on the panel.

- If ``Show Menu Tooltips'' is enabled, the Tooltip appears, after a Delay set by the slider control, when the mouse pointer is positioned above a Panel menu item.

The ``Visuals'' section controls the Panel and Taskbar ``autohide'' feature: this allows the panel and taskbar to be easily available when needed, but be hidden at other times to free up space on the screen.

- If ``Auto Hide Panel'' is selected, the Panel will ``hide'' behind the edge of the screen to which it is attached. This happens after the Delay set by the slider control has elapsed since the Panel was last touched by the mouse pointer. The Panel reappears when the screen edge behind which it is hiding is touched with the pointer. The Speed with which the Panel moves into and out of hiding is controlled by the second slider control.

- The ``Auto Hide Taskbar'' feature acts on the Taskbar in the same manner as ``Auto Hide Panel'' acts on the Panel.

- The Panel (but not the Taskbar) has a second feature that allows it to be moved off the screen. If one of the arrows at either end of the Panel is clicked on, the Panel slides parallel to the edge of the screen in the direction of this arrow, and disappears. Only the other arrow remains visible: clicking on this restores the Panel. By default, this motion is instantaneous, but if If ``Animate Show/Hide'' is selected, this motion takes place smoothly, with a Speed that is controlled by the slider control.

The ``Others'' section contains options that control the placement of the user's personal entries in the Application Starter menu (which appears when the big K button is selected), and the format of the Panel clock.

By default, the KDE system applications (not configurable by the user) are the first entries in the Application Starter menu, followed by a ``Personal'' menu containing the entries which belong to the user (and reside in the user's `˜/.kde/share/applnk/` directory).

- Selecting Menu Personal Menu Entries First places the user's entries first in the Application Starter Menu, followed by a ``default'' menu which contains the system's KDE applications.

The default placement of the items within the user's Personal Menu Entries puts individual application entries first, followed by Menu Folders in which additional collections of application entries are grouped (e.g., those created when the user runs the Appfinder in the System menu).

- Selecting Menu Folders First causes folders in the user's Personal Menu Entries to be placed before entries for individual applications.

Panel clock format. The panel displays the current time and date. By default, the time is in 24 hour time format. Other posible selections are:

- Clock shows time in AM/PM format.

- Clock shows time in Internet beats.

``Internet time'' is a new ``universal'' time format promoted by the Swatch watch company, where the 24 hour day is divided into 1000 ``beats'', measured from midnight UTC+1 (GMT+1), so noon UTC+1 is written as ``@500'' Internet time. (@000 means midnight, Winter time, at Biel, Switzerland, the location of the company headquarters,).

## Configuring Virtual Desktops

Up to eight Virtual Desktops may be configured. The number chosen is shown by the number of open boxes that are displayed. There will be a button on the Panel corresponding to each Virtual Desktop. Text entered in an open box appears as a label on the corresponding button.

The Visible slider choses the number of Virtual Desktops to be configured. (Possible choices are 2,4,6, or 8).

The Width slider adjusts the width of the Virtual Desktop buttons on the Panel. (Choose them wide enough to accomodate the text with which you labeled them.)